Missing Moments
by m.brown
Summary: Just a series of one-shots on missing moments between Lois and Clark that I wish would've been shown!
1. Can't Save Everyone

Clark glided down to his apartment balcony from the cool night sky and sighed with relief. It had been a _long_ day for both Clark Kent and Superman. Perry had been a monster at the office, Lois was in Star City for the third day in a row, and Cat happened to be unbearably annoying today. As far as Superman was concerned, he felt like a complete failure. Chloe and Oliver were on a much-needed vacation, so the League was a little short-handed. That left Clark to pick up a lot of slack.

He opened the doors to his bedroom hoping to find Lois, but all was quite in the Kent apartment. A strong surge of anger and annoyance bubbled up under his skin at her lack of presence, but he quickly calmed himself. It wasn't her fault that Perry sent her to Star City, he knew that, but the sting of loneliness hurt. He really missed her, especially on a day like today.

Checking his phone for the first time in a few hours, he saw a missed call and voicemail from his wife. Pressing the phone to his ear, he heard her exhausted and slightly frustrated voice on the other end explaining that she probably wouldn't be back until late tonight so he shouldn't wait up for her. That only added to Clark's own frustration.

Sighing, he quickly changed out of his suit and took a much-needed shower. He let the water run through his hair and down his back and chest, gently caressing every curve of his body. His mind drifted to Lois for a brief moment, imagining her hands softly massaging his skin, but he quickly snapped out of it. Imagining Lois didn't even come close to the real thing.

He stood in the shower for a few more minutes before deciding he should leave some hot water for Lois if she decided to shower when she got home. It was getting close to midnight and he figured she had to be getting home somewhat soon. After running a towel through his hair, he slipped on a pair of boxers and wandered out towards the balcony. Despite her suggestion to sleep, Clark found that he couldn't. Not without her. Not tonight.

Out on the balcony, the breeze was chilly, but not uncomfortable to Clark. In fact, it felt nice, almost numbing, on his skin. He did his best not to use his super-hearing due to the fact that the League had pretty much told him if they saw him out tonight, they'd use kryptonite to force him back home. It was a low blow, but one that he didn't quite mind. He was running on fumes at this point and he didn't want to risk getting sick like he did the last time he over-exhausted himself.

"Clark? Hey honey, sorry I'm getting back so late," Lois's voice called from inside the bedroom. Surprisingly, he hadn't even sensed her come in. His mind was still on over-drive from today.

"It's okay. How was your trip?" Clark called back numbly. He wasn't really in the mood for talking, but he knew she had a difficult few days as well. It wouldn't be fair for him to take out his frustrations on her.

"Oh, don't even get me _started_!" she exclaimed. He heard her putting her overnight bags down in the corner of the room where he knew they would sit for at least a week before she would unpack them. "I'm going to give Perry an earful tomorrow about what a colossal waste of time that was. I'm sorry, but if he asked me to cover one more story about _President_ Lex Luthor and his incredible generosity in the job market, I am going to projectile vomit all over him."

"I'm sorry," Clark said. He still was looking out at the Metropolis skyline and hadn't even noticed Lois had stepped out on the balcony with him. She was leaning against one of the open doors and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's okay. I'm just glad I'm home," she said softly as she walked over to her husband.

"Me too."

Lois expected Clark to turn and greet her with a hug or kiss, since that was what he usually did the minute she got back from a trip, but he stood stoic with his back still towards her. She could see the tension in his muscular back and shoulders. His hands gripped the cement rail he was currently leaning against tightly enough to leave imprints.

"Clark? Are you okay?" she asked as she made her way to his side. She placed a hand on his shoulder only to have him flinch away from her, an act that caught her completely off guard. No matter his mood, no matter if he was furious with her or the world, Clark had never moved away from her like that. A feeling of complete and total dread filled her stomach.

"I'm fine," he said, gritting his teeth together. He was angry alright, but Lois didn't know what about. He couldn't be mad at her, right? It definitely wasn't a forgotten birthday or anniversary, not that he'd get angry about that anyhow.

"Clark, you're not fine. What's wrong?" Lois asked. She tried again to touch him, this time placing her hand gently over him, but he backed away immediately. His eyes flickered to hers and in an instant, she knew he wasn't angry; he was hurting. His cerulean eyes swam with emotions ranging from sadness to anger to guilt, all feelings she was used to dealing with when it came to Clark Kent.

"I just had a long day, alright? If I say I'm fine, I'm _fine_ ," he almost growled. He turned back to walk inside, but Lois grabbed his forearm and spun him around. He wasn't getting out of this one without a fight.

"You're not _fine_ , so stop acting like it. I know you and I know when you're lying to me, so you might as well tell me what's going on before this turns into an argument," Lois challenged.

"Do you ever think that maybe there are some things I just don't want to talk about?" Clark yelled. He scowled at her like she was Public Enemy No. 1 and ripped his arm out of her hand without a second thought before retreating inside. However, he was stopped dead in his tracks by what was playing on the television.

"Hey! Don't you-"

Lois's mouth snapped shut when she saw the TV. Video footage of Clark, in this case, Superman, carrying the body of a young girl out of the aftermath of an explosion filled the screen.

" _Today, a suitcase bomb went off in City Hall which has caused four minor injuries and two fatalities. The bomber, Cedric Frichze, and a young girl on a school field trip were killed in the blast. Police have deemed this a terrorist attack and are looking further into the attack."_

Clark stood motionless as he watched the footage replay. It was all his fault. He had been finishing up an article when his super-hearing caught the suicide bomber's final shouts inside City Hall. He sped to City Hall in time to see the ball of flames envelope the bomber, who he knew was beyond saving. After quickly speeding everyone out, he watched the building explode into flames.

But he had missed the little girl.

"Clark…"

"I should've stopped the bomb. If I had just gotten rid of the bomb instead of moving people out of the building, she would be alive," Clark whispered. "It's all my fault."

Lois rushed to Clark and wrapped her arms around him. She clung to him like a child, needing him to feel every inch of her and every ounce of love she had for him. His arms gently wrapped around her waist, but she could feel him trying to pull away.

"It wasn't your fault, Clark," she whispered. "You know you can't save everyone."

"But this wasn't like that!" he suddenly yelled. He jumped away from Lois like she had just poked him with a hot needle, but she grabbed his hand before he could completely pull away from her. She looked up at him and saw his eyes brimming with tears, a sight that broke her heart. Clark looked her in the eyes and tried to blink away the tears, but he couldn't. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he stepped back and sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.

"I was tired and not thinking straight and it cost someone their life because of my actions."

Lois looked at the broken man in front of her and sighed. This wasn't the first time he had been upset over not being able to save someone, but it was the first time she had seen him this upset over it. Maybe it was because it had been a little girl or maybe it was because he really _did_ blame himself for making a hard decision, but she would be damned if she was going to let him feel guilty for this.

Stepping in front of him, she gently pried his hands away from his face and replaced them with her own. His cheeks were wet with fresh tears and his eyes were as pink as his face. She wiped the tears away with her thumbs and caressed his face in her hands. Bringing his face to her eye level, she looked at him with all of the love and admiration she could possibly muster.

"You had to make a decision today. That decision and _your_ actions saved so many people, Clark. You cannot beat yourself up for making a split-second choice, okay? Every action has a consequence and we don't get to choose what those consequences will be," she said. "You have the hardest job in the world and no one expects you to be perfect. You aren't God."

"I should've double-checked the building, I should've done more…" Clark tried to say, but his voice began to crack. Lois pulled his head to her chest and stood steady as the Man of Steel cried into her shirt. His arms wrapped around her like an iron bar as he finally let the sobs wrack his body and all she could do hold him.

Clark crying wasn't exactly new to her, but it wasn't common either. She had seen him cry three times in his life. Once at his father's funeral, once when he watched Lana's break-up video, and once when Lois had woken up in the hospital after a particularly nasty injury. None of those times were like this though. He was full-out sobbing, and truthfully, Lois was at a loss. He had come home after days of not being able to save people before, but a quick lecture from her usually snapped him out of his funk. She wondered now if he had been bottling up all of those feelings until now.

So, Lois just stood there. She rubbed his back and ran her fingers comfortingly through his hair, whispering words of love to him. A few strangled apologies escaped his mouth, but mostly he just tried to keep from audibly crying. Neither of them liked to be weak in front of anyone, but in front of each other they knew that there was no need for embarrassment. There was only compassion and understanding.

After a few minutes, she couldn't hear him crying anymore, but he didn't move his head from her shoulder. She knew he felt embarrassed for crying like that, a feeling she often shared when their roles were reversed, but she made him look at her anyhow.

"Honey, I know you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, but you need to know it wasn't your fault. There is nothing you or anyone else could have done. The only person to blame is that man, okay?" Lois said. Clark looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes and nodded, but she could see the doubt that still hung over him like a blanket.

"Clark, if it wasn't for you _all_ of those people would be dead. You did the best you could do."

"It doesn't make it hurt any less," he replied hoarsely. Lois nodded before taking his hand and sitting next to him on the bed.

"That's why I'm here, Smallville. To talk you through it and make sure you know you aren't alone in this," Lois said. "Nobody's perfect. Not even Superman."

Clark finally allowed a small smile to grace his lips as Lois stroked his cheek. Those beautiful brown eyes he loved to get lost in sparkled with nothing but love and honesty, something that he sorely needed. He turned and kissed her palm gently before leaning in to kiss her lips.

"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you," Clark said. Lois ran her fingers through his obsidian locks and smiled.

"You'll never have to find out."

Clark kissed her once more and pulled her into a tight embrace. Letting his cheek rest on the top of her head, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. She smelled like strawberry shampoo and maple donuts, a surprisingly intoxicating scent that he wished he could bottle up.

"I missed you," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her hair. Lois played with the hair that curled just at the base of his skull and snuggled more into his shoulder.

"I missed you too, Smallville," she said, looking up. "Star City isn't nearly as fun without you."

She pecked him quickly and gave his shoulder a squeeze as she rose from her seated position. Watching her walk to the bathroom, Clark got up and closed the balcony doors before turning the rest of the lights off in the apartment and locking the front door. Not that they really needed to with his super-hearing, but it always made Lois better. As he was crawling into bed, Lois exited the bathroom dressed in one of his old flannels that he honestly couldn't claim to be his anymore. Flicking the lights off, she crawled into bed next to Clark and let him wrap his arms around her.

"Thank you, again. Sometimes I just can't help feeling guilty for the things that go wrong," Clark murmured. His hot breath tickled her ear, but she tried not to squirm and ruin what she knew was an important moment.

"No need to thank me, Clark. You save the world daily. The least I can do is save you from yourself from time to time," she whispered. Turning over, she found his face in the moonlight and pressed a goodnight kiss against his lips which he accepted whole-heartedly.

"You save me every day. I love you."

"I love you too. Goodnight, Superman," Lois teased. Clark grinned at her and kissed her once more before she turned her head and snuggled back towards him.

As Clark began to drift to sleep, all he could think about was how the real hero wasn't in the skies, but here in his arms.


	2. Closure

She had asked him _three times_ to go through his things at the farm. Had he? No. He hadn't. He was too busy saving kittens from trees and putting out forest fires to actually listen to her for once. She was being unfair, and she knew that, but Lois Lane was used to having her way and she hated to repeat herself. Clark knew that too which just made everything so much worse.

So here Lois was, sweating through her tank top and shorts in the mid-summer heat of Kansas, while Clark was in Haiti dealing with aftermath of a nasty hurricane. She had called him earlier that morning and told him that she was going to be clearing out things at the farm. They decided that they were going to keep the farm, but sell more of the land and redecorate. Redecoration included turning Clark's old bedroom into a guest bedroom, a task that led her to her current predicament.

She obviously wasn't strong enough to get any of the big furniture downstairs by herself, so she resorted to cleaning out the closet of a teenage Clark Kent. Literally. With absolutely no surprise, she rifled through the old clothes in his closet to find a large collection of similar looking flannels, plain t-shirts, and jeans. Lois smiled to herself as she folded his clothes, some of which she put in a pile to steal for herself.

The clothes reminded her so much of the old Clark Kent that she used to pretend to hate. The flannel-wearing, brooding, dorky, farm-boy was the bane of her existence, or so she thought. Looking back though, part of her always knew she was attracted to Clark. I mean, she couldn't _not_ be after meeting him stark naked for the first time. But even through the insults and the sarcasm, there was still that nagging feeling of attraction she felt for him. She had just pushed away the feelings back then because it was easier. Looking at the engagement ring on her finger, she couldn't believe how far they'd come.

After packing up and sorting his clothes into boxes, she moved on to his desk. It was still cluttered with papers and books on Krypton, knick-knacks, and typical office supplies. Knowing the desk had probably looked like this since senior year, Lois made quick work of sorting his junk. Kryptonian files in one box, useful office supplies in another, items he'd have to look through in another. However, upon opening the desk drawer, she found something that she had absolutely no idea what to do with.

A framed picture of Lana Lang looked up at her amidst the clutter.

Lois swore she felt her heart drop into her stomach as she picked up the frame. Lana couldn't have been older than 18 in this photo, the prime age in the Clark and Lana love story. Did Clark even know this was here? Of course he did. He probably put it in there so Lois didn't have to look at it. Twisting her engagement ring nervously, she wondered just how long ago he put that picture away.

She was being irrational and jealous, but at least she could admit it. Clark proposed to _her_ , not Lana, although she knew that in an alternate world he actually had proposed to her before going back in time. She also knew that one of the reasons they weren't together was because they physically couldn't be without Clark dying.

Lois knew Clark loved her. It wasn't a question or debate; it was a fact. But she would be lying if she said that she had never compared herself to Lana. In fact, she used to do it all the time. Lana was sweet and sensitive, Lois was sarcastic and blunt. Lana was the perfect student, Lois got kicked out of college. Lana was the love of Clark's life, Lois was... Lois.

Before her and Clark ever really got together, she found herself wondering just what was so great about Lana. She was gorgeous, obviously, and had a smile so sweet that Lois used to gag thinking about it, but she was also the manipulative, secretive woman who married Lex Luthor and brought him to his knees. She had also broken Clark's heart which just didn't sit right with her.

"Lois?"

She hadn't even heard Clark come in, but she immediately turned around at the sound of his voice. He was dressed in a regular t-shirt and jeans, dressed as _her_ Clark Kent, not the fumbling reporter or world-saving hero. It relaxed her a little, but as his eyes drifted to the picture she was holding, the feelings of anxiety bubbled up again.

"I was just sorting out your things, you know- keep, sell, throw away- but I wasn't sure what you wanted to do with some of it," she said, biting her lip as she nervously passed the photo from hand to hand.

"The frame is nice, but I really have no use for the picture," he replied with a knowing look. It was a look she knew all too well, a cross between "Shut up, Lois" and "I love you," but she still couldn't bring herself to drop the subject. When she didn't reply, Clark sighed and sat down on the bed.

"I honestly forgot it was even in there. You know I haven't done anything in this room besides sleep since high school," he pointed out. That alleviated some of her insecurities, but the bigger ones still threatened to overtake her.

"I know, I just… we never really talked about Lana," Lois said slowly. Clark cocked his head at that and looked at her in confusion.

"What's there to talk about?" Clark asked. Lois put the picture down and sighed as she leaned against his desk.

"Well, we could start with how the only reason you broke up is because you would die if you didn't," she said. "Or the fact that every time she's shown back up in your life, you drop whatever you're doing and run back to her like a lost puppy."

"I do _not_ do that!" Clark protested, but Lois only scoffed at him.

"Really? Does the near-kiss at Chloe's wedding ring any bells, Smallville?" she challenged. His open mouth snapped shut at that comment.

"I told you I was sorry about that, but I thought we had moved on," he said softly. Looking up at his expression, she sort of felt bad for him. It wasn't his fault that he had been in love with someone else before her and she certainly wasn't going to hold it against him, but it wasn't the root of the problem either.

"I'm not mad, Clark. We have been through this, I know, I just don't think that _I've_ completely moved on," she said.

"What do you mean?"

Chewing her bottom lip, Lois began to pace. If she stood still and looked at him, she would probably cry which absolutely was not an option. Crying over jealous thoughts was not something that Lois did, especially not in front of other people, and _especially_ when it came to Clark.

"I feel like if Lana hadn't been exposed to that Kryptonite, you'd still be together. I'm just your next best option."

A silence filled the room that Lois wasn't expecting. She expected him to tell her she was crazy or wrong or to just shut up, but that's not what happened. She stood looking out the window waiting for him to speak, and when he didn't, tears began to fill her eyes.

"Is that really what you think?" a low, soft voice asked after a few moments. The voice was so un-Clark-like that she got the chills. She turned to see him looking at her with a strange expression on his face. His eyes were swimming with emotions- sadness, confusion, a little bit of anger- but the rest of his face showed no signs of feeling anything. When Lois shrugged, he pinched the bridge of his nose and walked up to her.

"I'm so sorry. I really am," Clark said. For a brief moment, she thought he was about to tell her she was right about everything, but then he pulled her into his arms and she couldn't help but melt into him. A simple touch was enough to reassure her that he wasn't going anywhere.

"I should have never made you feel that way," he murmured before pulling away to look at her. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled that signature half-smile only he could pull off.

"You're not the next best option. You're not even a choice. You're who I _need_."

Smiling at his words, Lois wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her head closer to his own causing the kiss to deepen. Letting out a small moan, Lois realized this was the problem with their relationship. She could be in the middle of an important conversation with him and one look would lead to one kiss which would lead to sex. Then she'd have to bring up whatever it was she was talking to him about at another time and the cycle would start again.

"I know. I know because I've had psychics and helmets of fate and she-devils trying to get in your pants all tell me the same thing, but I think I still need some closure before I can really believe that Lois and Clark is a better love story than Lana and Clark."

"What can I do to convince you that there is only _one_ story I intend on finishing?" Clark asked. Lois dropped her arms from around him and leaned back against the desk.

"If she hadn't been exposed to Kryptonite, would we be engaged right now?" she asked bluntly. He blinked a few times before fully processing that question and frowned.

"I don't know."

Lois felt her stomach drop at that answer. It definitely wasn't the answer she wanted, but at least he was being honest with her. At least now she knew where she stood.

"Lois, you were right when you said that whenever Lana popped into my life things got a little… complicated," he said, earning him an eye roll from his fiancé. "But that's the thing. It was always complicated with her. I was so caught up in the thought that I was in love with her that I never really saw the big picture."

"Whenever Lana was around, I was blind to everything around me, especially you. That's why I don't know if we'd be engaged. I think it might have taken me a little bit longer to see what was right in front of me."

"But it wouldn't have worked out?" Lois asked almost hopefully. She hated that she sounded the way she did right now, but she needed this. She needed to know.

"No," he answered. "She was too focused on my powers and not me. That's the difference, Lois. Lana always pressured me to tell her my secret. You waited for me to tell you, even when you already knew. She treated me like a hero, but you treat me like a man. She wanted me to be who she wanted, but you want me for me."

"It wouldn't have worked because even when I was with Lana, I found myself thinking about you. I felt guilty about it, but it was there. It's always been there. You knew me better than she ever did. You knew what to say when I needed my ass kicked or when I needed a shoulder to cry on. Lois, Lana spent an entire month with Bizarro and didn't even know it was me. I think she even liked him more than me. It took you five minutes with Clark Luthor to realize he was a fake and it took you one look to realize when we switched back."

"Lois, it wouldn't have worked because I thought I was in love with Lana, but the truth is I didn't know what love was until I found myself sitting across from you every morning looking forward to the new batch of insults you were going to throw at me that day."

Tears were flowing down her cheeks at this point, but she didn't care. How could she have been so insecure about being with someone who could say all of those beautiful words to her? Lois pressed her face into Clark's hard chest and relished in the feeling of his arms around her. She always felt so safe and secure in his arms, and this time was no exception. His arms were like home to her and his confession was like an extra security blanket.

"I love you, Lois. With my entire heart," Clark murmured. Pulling his lips to hers, she kissed him gently.

"I love you too," she whispered. "Thank you. I guess I just needed to hear it to know it was true. Silly, huh?"

"No, I understand. I'm just sorry I made you feel like that."

"It's okay, Smallville. That was a hell of an apology."

Clark beamed at her and kissed her once more just to make sure she was okay. When he was satisfied, he reached over and grabbed the picture frame. Unlatching the back, he opened the frame and removed the picture of Lana before walking over to the boxes where he placed the frame in the box marked "Sell". Taking a last look at Lana's picture, he let a small smile grace his lips before tossing it in the "Trash" box.

"I have to give Lana credit for one thing, though," Clark said.

"If you say anything that has to do with sex, you're sleeping on the couch tonight."

"She saw us together before anyone else did."

Lois's eyebrows shot up after hearing that. Out of everyone that knew them, Lana Lang had been the first one to figure it out between the two of them?

"She asked me about you once. Romantically, I mean," Clark said. A shade of red blossomed in his cheeks at that comment, so Lois raised an eyebrow.

"And what exactly did you say?" she asked as she sauntered back over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck again and made sure he was eye level with her before he spoke. Grinning, he put his hands on her waist and narrowed his eyes.

"I think the exact words I used were: bossy, stuck-up, and rude."

"Mmm… that sounds about right," she said with a sly smile. "So, what did she say after you finished explaining how much you couldn't stand me?"

"That the best ones start out that way. And boy was she right."


	3. Always

**This is my take on Lois's thoughts before, during, and after the reunion in 10x19 (Dominion)! It's one of my favorite Clois moments, so I just** _ **had**_ **to write about it.**

Three weeks, two days. It had been three weeks since Clark had gone into the Phantom Zone and two days until their wedding day. Lois laid in bed staring up at the ceiling trying to imagine that Clark was sleeping soundly next to her. Reaching out her hand however, all she felt were soft cotton sheets. His side of the bed was unnervingly cold and all she wished for was to wrap herself up in his arms.

 _Snap out of it, Lane._ She knew that wallowing here in bed wasn't going to bring him back any faster and neither was moping around. She had been through this before when the General was deployed. All she had to do was keep her head up, have faith, and push through the day. He was the Blur. He was _her_ Clark. He was going to make it out of there.

Rolling out of bed, she took a long shower and relished in the hot water, urging it to wash away all of her fears and worries. Her imagination projected an image of Clark behind her, running his hands along her body… but she propelled the fantasy out of her head. She missed him terribly, but she had to stay strong.

The problem was that Lois had never been in this situation. Sure, she had missed the General and worried about him when he was overseas, but that pain and fear was nothing compared to this. She had never been in love with another man before Clark, or never _truly_ in love. Missing him was like missing an entire part of her heart and soul. As strong-willed and independent as she was, this emptiness she felt wasn't something she could cover up with a sarcastic remark. This just hurt.

After drying off, she walked over to the dresser and looked for something to wear. Rummaging through a mix of her clothes, she found a shirt that made her smile. It was the flannel shirt that she had taken from Clark the first time she stayed at the Kent's farm. She chuckled recalling how flustered he had gotten when she entered the bathroom while he was still showering. Poor, innocent Clark didn't know what to do.

Lois slipped on the flannel over her underwear before pulling the fabric to her nose. She had stolen the shirt years ago, but there was still a lingering scent of something that was purely Clark Kent that was integrated into the cotton. It calmed her more than she thought and she let out a gentle sigh. She ran a towel through her hair once more before throwing it on the bathroom counter, pulling her hair up into a messy bun, and making her way out to the kitchen.

She searched the fridge for something to eat before sighing and pulling a tub of Rocky Road out of the freezer. She sat it on the counter and looked out the window at Metropolis. It really was a beautiful night and had been a gorgeous morning, but she had spent most of the day either in bed or on the couch. Tess had pretty much banned her from Watchtower today after her three-day stake out there. For once she was happy to not have been at the Daily Planet today either. Lois had claimed a day off today for wedding preparations, but that really wasn't the case. Everything was ready for the wedding, save Clark, who she still had faith would return before Sunday, so she just wanted to take a day for herself.

Carrying her pint of ice cream, she made her way over to the dining room table to take a look at her final to-do sheet. Taking a bite of the delicious dessert, she put the carton down and scanned the list only to stop dead in her tracks. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone standing by the front door. She couldn't make out who it was, but she was too afraid to turn her head and look. She didn't want it to be a dream. But as she looked up, she realized it wasn't.

"Clark," she said softly. He stood in the middle of the room with a small smile on his face, hair looking disheveled, but showing no signs of injury. Lois thought her knees were going to buckle, so she quickly made her way to him before she fell over. She buried her face in his neck and ran her fingers through his obsidian hair. His strong arms held her flush against his solid body and she thought she was going to completely melt into him. Pulling her head away to look at him, she planted a long, firm kiss on the mouth she had missed so much. He kissed her back eagerly and she felt as if her heart was whole again. All of the emptiness, fear, and doubt were washed away by his lips on hers.

"I knew you'd make it," she murmured. Clark brushed a piece of hair off of her cheek and stroked her skin with his thumb.

"I told you I would," he replied. His cerulean eyes flickered away from her after a moment or two of some much-needed gazing and grew curious as he looked around the apartment. "What happened to taking the time to merge our lives together? Finding the right place for everything?"

"Oh, you know me. Waiting isn't exactly my strong suit. So I guess, nervous energy equals power unpacking," Lois rambled. After the third day of waiting for Clark and Oliver to come out of that zone, she decided that she would start unpacking their boxes. She couldn't just come home to this empty apartment every day and she needed something to take her mind off of waiting for him to come back. She had actually just finished putting the finishing touches on the place two days ago, so the apartment was as new to Clark as it was her.

"What'd you do? Enlist John Jones and Bart?" he asked jokingly. "There's no way that you could have..." The realization that he had been gone longer than a couple hours hit him like a freight train. She could see it in his eyes. Lois knew that time in the Phantom Zone moved a lot slower than time on Earth, and she wondered just how long he thought he had been gone.

"How long were we gone?" he asked softly.

"Three weeks."

"We were only in there a few hours. The crystal ... crushing it must have altered time," Clark said, processing his time jump. "So a few hours for me was almost a month for you. You waited all that time."

"Well, the League decided that it wasn't safe to send any more people in after you, so Tess and I took turns camping out at Watchtower trying to re-establish contact with you and Oliver," Lois explained. "I, uh brought the pillow with me for downtime, because... well, it reminds me of you now. Silly, huh?"

Lois recalled all of those nights after work, sitting patiently by the gate, clutching the Whitesnake pillow to her chest and praying that Clark would appear at any moment. She constantly monitored the frequency connection, trying impossibly to re-establish contact with him, but failing every time.

"After three hours, Tess was supposed to-"

"Blow up the gate. Yeah… Tess and I had a little unexpected heart to heart about your secret plan that may or may not have involved me pulling a gun on her. I brought her around to seeing things my way," Lois rambled. Clark's eyes bulged at the gun reference, but she ignored it. The truth was that she was still hurt over the fact that he didn't even tell her that the gate was supposed to be destroyed. He didn't tell her that he could've been stuck in there for all of eternity without even saying goodbye.

"I just... I wish you could have had a little faith in me, too," Lois said. His eyes softened at her words and he brought his hand to her arm.

"Lois, I didn't want you to have to make that kind of choice. I was trying to..." Clark tried to explain.

"Protect me? I know. But you're part of me now, Clark. A half of a whole. So, in the future, if there's even a chance that the mission might claim my better half, sign me up... Because I'd rather be in some sand-blown purgatory with you than in the hell of not knowing if I'll ever see you again," Lois said. "And it was _hell_."

"Lois, I am so sorry. I try to make choices using my human side, but sometimes my Kryptonian side takes over. I try to control the situation. Instead of hiding that side, I should try to help you understand it," Clark admitted. His puppy dog eyes were turned on full blast and though Lois knew he didn't even know how persuasive that look was, it worked every damn time.

"Promise to put that in your wedding vows," Lois said. A look of fear suddenly struck his face and his jaw dropped open.

"Wait, the wedding!"

"Yeah, T-minus two days, Smallville."

"You didn't postpone it," Clark almost asked wearily. Lois let out a sigh and shook her head before she reached out and cupped his cheeks.

"No. I couldn't. Believing that you would come back to me was the only thing that kept me going," she said. Worried that _he_ might want to wait, she immediately dropped her hands. "But if you want to postpone, that's fine."

"Lois," Clark said incredulously as he cupped her cheek. "There's nothing in this world that could prevent me from walking down that aisle." A smile broke out across Lois's face and she pulled his lips back to hers. This, right here, was where she wanted to be for the rest of her life.

"So… do you like the apartment? We can totally move things around if you don't like it," Lois said hesitantly.

"It's perfect, Lois," he said without moving his eyes from hers. This caused Lois to roll her eyes at him, but she couldn't keep the smile off of her face.

"You haven't even really looked around yet! Come on, I'll take you on a tour," Lois said, grabbing his hand and beginning to pull him towards the big window where she had set his telescope up. However, Clark resisted and instead pulled her back towards him. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Can you show me tomorrow? Right now, I'd really just like to take my fiancé to bed," he said with a small smile. He brushed a piece of hair from her cheek and Lois almost shuddered at the feeling of his fingertips on her skin. Three weeks had definitely made her lose perspective on just how compelling a simple touch from him could be. Nodding, Lois wasted no time capturing his lips in a searing kiss, one which he responded equally, if not more, eager to.

She pushed the jacket off of his broad shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands moved to the backs of her thighs before easily lifting her off the ground. Lois wrapped her legs around his waist as he began walking toward what she could only assume to be their bedroom. Honestly, he could've been taking her to the counter and she wouldn't have given a damn. At this point, she just needed him in any way, shape or form she could get him.

His mouth slowly traveled from her lips down her neck, leaving a lingering trail of fire burning along her tender skin. They found their destination at the hollow of her neck and she couldn't help but let out an audible gasp. Her fingers threaded through his hair and slightly pulled, urging him to make his way back up to her mouth to which he happily obliged. Caught up in the incredible feeling of his lips on hers, she didn't even notice they had reached the bedroom until her back hit the matress.

Finally free to let go of his neck, Lois let her hands roam downwards and under the hem of his shirt before pulling it over his head. God, she had missed his body. Sure, her previous boyfriends had all been good looking with a set of washboard abs, but none of them held a candle to Clark. The solidness of his muscles combined with his soft, unblemished skin was something that still left her breathless after all of these years. But at the current moment, it wasn't even about that. It was just feeling and knowing that he was _here_. Alive.

Three weeks was nothing in the army. She remembered the General, before he became a general, leaving for deployments of twelve or more months. That was hard for her, especially after her mother died, but she found that that feeling was incomparable to the emptiness she felt over the past month. It was as if her world had stopped turning completely. With her father gone, she had to put up a strong front for Lucy. That's partially where her sarcastic nature came from. It was easier to deflect emotions with cynical comments and jokes rather than actually deal with how she was feeling.

That just didn't work in this case. Missing Clark was like missing part of herself: the part that gave him a hard time about his wardrobe choices or about how even though he was a superhero, that didn't excuse him from forgetting to clean up all the soot he tracked in the house after putting out an apartment fire. He was the person that made her Lois Lane, someone that she hadn't seen much of in the previous weeks.

"Lois?"

Clark's voice snapped her back to reality, but when she looked up, he had a concerned look on his face. Well, at least that's what she thought. Everything was a bit blurry at the moment and it took her a moment to realize why. She was crying.

"Lois, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" Clark asked worriedly, immediately rolling off of her and scanning her body for injuries. Lois shook her head, but could not formulate a response nor stop the waterfall of tears from cascading down her flushed cheeks. The emotions of the past few weeks were finally catching up to her and had burst out like an overflowing dam.

"Lois? Lois, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" Clark asked anxiously. Mustering up all of the self-control she had, she managed to respond.

"Clark, I… thought I'd never… God…" Lois choked out between sobs. Before he had a chance to say anything, she flung herself on top of his chest and wrapped herself around him like he was going to disappear at any second. She buried her face into his neck and let the hot tears roll onto his skin, not giving a damn if she was acting like a mess right now. She wasn't a weak or weapy woman, but everyone had their breaking point. Hers just happened to involve the love of her life.

"Oh, Lois… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for leaving you," Clark murmured. His breath was hot in her ear, another reassurance that he was really here. She felt his arm tighten around her lower back as his other hand clutched her head to his chest. He deftly pulled her hair out of the bun it was in and smoothed her hair out. He brushed through her auburn locks with his fingers rythmically knowing that it was one of the things that helped relax her when needed.

"I'm here now. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere," he said along with more words of comfort and reassurance. Despite his words, Lois couldn't stop the steady stream of tears that leaked from her eyes. Thankfully though, she was no longer sobbing. She wasn't a fan of crying, especially ugly crying, and this was probably the hardest she had cried since she thought Chloe had died.

It took about another five minutes of loving whispers and caressing touches for Lois to finally calm down enough to speak normally. Her eyes were red and raw, her throat soar, and her body exhausted from all of the energy she had just expended. When she finally got the nerve to peel herself away from Clark's shoulder, she found him looking at her with a heartbroken expression.

"I'm so sorry, Lois," he whispered. It seemed he was trying to keep his own emotions at bay. She knew he felt guilty for not telling her about his plan to destroy the gate, being away for three weeks, and now making her cry, but she wasn't going to be able to handle it if he got emotional too.

"I know, I know, just the thought of losing you… it finally hit me," she said hoarsely. "I've kind of been sort of a shell of a person the last couple weeks and all my emotions are catching up to me."

"You're not going to lose me. I promise," he said roughly. "I'm never going to let that happen."

Lois nodded meekly and Clark reached over to wipe away the remaining wetness on her face. He kissed her gently, almost tentatively, and Lois responded before sliding off of his chest and pressing herself to his side. She hooked her leg over his, tangling their lower limbs together and placed her head against his chest. Listening to his steady heartbeat, Lois closed her eyes and let her hand gently caress the side of his stomach. In turn, he returned to the task of stroking her hair and placed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I sure know how to kill a mood, huh?" Lois asked. She felt the low chuckle rumble through his chest and smiled.

"This is perfect, Lois. You're perfect," he said, placing a comforting hand on her arm. The steady beating of his heart was calming and was quickly drawing her into a much-needed sleep. However, before she could completely fall out, she found herself being moved off of his warm body. She cracked her eyes open to find Clark picking up his discarded shirt and a tremor of nervousness went through her.

"Did you hear something?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't want to be selfish, but she had also just gotten him back. The thought of him leaving again left her feeling cold. Seeing her expression, Clark gave her an assuring smile.

"No, I'm just going to turn the lights off and take a quick shower. Tess made it pretty clear that she'd kill Oliver and me if we were out tonight," Clark said. "Just give me a few seconds."

True to his word, just ten seconds later Clark was climbing into bed with a a damp head of hair and turning the bedside lamp off. Lois was immediately pulled back to her previous position and sighed as she felt all of the tension and stress from the day melt away. Clark had a habit of being both the source and the remedy to most of her worries, but she wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. A simple life wasn't in the cards for Lois Lane, and neither was a simple man.

"Thank you."

Lois frowned and looked up in the darkness to find Clark gazing at her lovingly.

"For what, Smallville?" she asked.

"For waiting," he replied. Her heart swelled for him. Clark had a history of having loved ones leave him. They were too alike in that aspect.

"Always, Smallville," she said before leaning up to kiss him. "Thank you for coming back to me."

"Always. I love you."

"I love you too."


	4. Cape or Not

God, he loved her.

Clark stood in the doorway of his bedroom staring at his wife as she slept soundlessly. Her heartbeat was steady and calm, her breath coming out in soft snores and her auburn hair fanned out in a way that made it impossible to actually see her face. But he didn't need to see her to know she was beautiful.

Her arm was stretched out clutching his pillow under the crook of her arm, something she commonly did when he was away for more than twenty-four hours. He could see she was sleeping in one of his old flannels again, something that she also commonly did whether or not he was home. She claimed that they were soft and reminded her of him, but he also knew she knew how much he enjoyed seeing her in them.

Realizing he was still in his Superman suit and it probably smelled like fire and sweat, he began to strip it off. He did so slowly, not wanting to wake Lois with a whoosh of wind. Throwing the blue and red garmets in his laundry basket and sliding it in the closet, he grabbed a pair of boxers and headed to the bathroom to shower.

It had been a long few days. He didn't realize how late it actually was until the clock in the bathroom beeped at him. Three AM. Clark rubbed his eyes with balled up fists before he turned on the shower. He was beyond exhausted and wanted nothing more than to climb in bed with his wife, but he didn't want to get the sheets dirty and deal with the terror that was an angry Lois Lane-Kent.

Stepping into the hot spray, he closed his eyes as the water saturated his hair and rolled down his body. His muscles were actually aching for the first time in a while. Three days spent rescuing people and animals in the California wildfires, helping tame the wild flames, and rebuilding infrastructure had really taken its toll on him. Most days and nights were filled with stopping normal crimes, but it was always the natural disastors that were the worst.

Feeling sufficiently clean and a bit more relaxed, he turned the water off and dried himself off before slipping on his boxers. He made a quick loop around the apartment to make sure that all the lights were off and that the coffee pot was ready for tomorrow morning, something that he knew Lois would appreciate. Finally making his way to his bedroom, Clark walked to the side of the bed and smiled.

Gently, he pulled his pillow out from her grip and slid under the covers beside her. She frowned in her sleep and shifted so that she was now turned away from him. She attempted to pull the full width of the covers over her, but Clark held them in a steely grip. One too many times he had woken up with Lois curled beside him in a cocoon of sheets while he lied on the mattress with nothing covering him except his underwear. One too many times he didn't even have that.

Though he didn't want to wake her, he couldn't help but snuggle up behind her and slip his arm over her waist. His fingers found hers and wiggled their way in between the crevices while he buried his face in her hair. Inhaling deeply, he felt a wave of calmness wash over him. Her scent was so relaxing to him. It was like coming home.

"I love you, Lois," he murmured into her hair before placing a kiss on the top of her head. She shifted again, but her heartbeat and breathing remained steady. Smiling to himself, Clark shut his eyes and let some much-needed sleep overcome his body.

* * *

God, she loved him.

Lois watched him as he slept. His ebony hair was ruffled over his forehead, his arm draped over her hip, and his muscular back rose and fell rhythmically as he breathed. She lightly brushed the hair away from his face so not to wake up, but just so she could continue gazing at her beautiful husband.

She really didn't know how a man could be so good looking. He was like a Greek god complete with a set of a piercing blue eyes, a chiseled jaw, and a body so perfect she thought it should have an insurance policy. How a man could look like that, be as kind and caring as he was, save the world, and _still_ marry her was beyond her comprehension. She didn't like to question it though; she was just thankful.

Waking up this morning, she stretched her arm out and was surprised to hit something solid. Immediately rolling over, she found her husband sleeping peacefully on his stomach. The sight warmed her heart. As much as she hated to admit it, mostly because it made her sound sappier than Clark, she was never happy without him by her side. When he went on trips, there always seemed to be an ache in her chest that only he could sooth with his presence.

Thankfully, that missing piece of her heart was sleeping soundly next to her. She let her fingers play with his hair again before grazing them down the side of his cheek. She smiled when he scrunched his nose up in response. When his face relaxed again, she smiled. She never got tired of watching him, especially like this. Their mornings and nights in bed together were few of the rare moments where Clark wasn't a fumbling reporter or a superhero; he was just her Clark Kent. Her Smallville.

Knowing that he probably got in early this morning, Lois decided to let him have some more sleep. She turned to slide out of bed, but she found the lazy arm thrown over her hip was now pulling her towards its owner.

"Where are you going?" Clark mumbled. He kept his eyes closed, but she knew he was wide awake now. A smile played on her lips as she snuggled back under the sheets and towards her husband. He cracked one eye open and smiled sleepily before propping himself up on the pillow. She noticed that he looked significantly younger in the morning. Whether it was his disheveled hair, his boyish smile, or the way his eyes crinkled as they adjusted to the sunlight, the sight was a welcome one.

"I thought you were still asleep," she said. She threaded her fingers through his hair and pushed it off of his face as best as she could. In turn, he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and trailed his hand down her shoulder until he reached her hip again.

"And that gives you permission to leave?" he asked playfully. Lois grinned at his banter and finally couldn't help herself. She leaned into him and captured his lips with her own. He responded by pulling her completey on top of him and tangled his fingers in her hair. Taking his bottom lip in between her own, Lois melted in his arms. She molded to him like a hot wax and couldn't help but let out a soft moan when he grabbed the backside of her right knee to pull her into a straddling position.

"I missed you," she said in between kisses. He cupped her cheek and gently guided her lips away from his own so he could look her directly in the eyes. Stroking her cheek gently with the pad of his thumb, he let a soft smile grace his lips before he kissed her softly.

"I missed you too. You know I don't like leaving for more than a day," he admitted sheepishly. Lois ran her fingers through his hair and gently scratched his scalp. It was one of the few things that truly relaxed Clark besides sleeping and sex.

"Clingy, are we?" she hummed. He narrowed his eyes at her and she quickly found herself lying on her back with her husband's bare chest pressed up against her own. His nose was almost touching hers and he stared at her as if he was capturing her soul. Of course, when he realized that the top button of her- well, technically _his_ flannel had come undone, his eyes flitted to her exposed cleavage. A look of hunger flashed across his baby blues and Lois knew immediately that he would experience all three of the things that relaxed him the most this morning.

Afterwards, they lied with limbs tangled together as they tried to catch their breath. Lois had her head on his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair and couldn't help but sneak a look at him. His eyes were closed and there was a smile plastered on his face that she wasn't sure he even knew about.

"How was California?" she asked. It was always easier to ask him about his work as Superman when he wasn't tense since he usually wouldn't remember to dwell on how he could've done better. As much as she loved him, she did get annoyed with how hard he was on himself.

"Not too bad. A couple of injuries, but it was mostly damage to the forests and infrastructure that I was there helping with. It really tired me out though," he said with a sigh. "I'm just glad I'm home. How's work?"

"Mmm… it'll be better if I can get an up close and personal interview with Superman about his heroics the past few days," she teased. Looking down at her, he raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Isn't that what you just got?" he asked huskily. Lois rolled her eyes, but pressed a kiss to his shoulder and snuggled back into his embrace.

"Work's been fine. Cat's been popping in and out more than usual looking for you which definitely is more than annoying. Otherwise, nothing new. I'm just glad it's Sunday," she said.

"Lois Lane is happy to not be at work? Are you sick or something?" Clark teased. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled away from his side and rolled back on top of him.

"It's Lois Lane-Kent to _you_ , Superman. My husband wouldn't appreciate the mix-up."

"My sincerest apologies. I'm sure your husband wouldn't appreciate where you are right now either."

"Oh, he knows. Can I let you in on a little secret?"

"And what would that be?"

"My husband _is_ Superman. In the cape or not, he's always my hero."

God, he loved her. And God, she loved him just the same.


	5. Labels

Got an idea from "Lucy" about writing about Clark and Lois's relationship titles!

Disclaimer: Text taken from "Lucy," (4x16) and "Siren" (7x11)

* * *

 **Friend**

She peered through the telescope in amazement. There was no doubt in her mind that Clark Kent was a nerdy Farmer John, but even she had to admit- this was pretty cool. You could see so many stars out in Smallville. It was so unlike the bases she had lived at during her childhood and captivated her in a way she couldn't process.

As she stared at the stars, she thought about her sister. How in the hell had she gotten so screwed up? Lois knew that she was never able to fill the shoes her mother left, but had she really been that terrible of an older sister? Had she caused Lucy to spiral?

"I thought you said that telescopes were for geeks and stalkers."

Lois snapped her head up to see Clark leaning against the top of the stairs with a smug expression on his face. She wanted to smack it right off of him. Wiping her hands on her jeans, she stood up straight.

"Yeah, well, as was proven over the last few days, I can seriously misjudge people," she admits. "You know, if you've come to kick me off the farm, I completely understand."

"Yeah, um, actually I came here to tell you that we have food in the oven if you're hungry," he said sheepishly. Her eyes raised in surprise at this offer.

"Thanks," she said. Why in the world this family was going to let her stay with them again was beyond her comprehension, but she wouldn't question it.

"How you holding up?" Clark asked seriously. Lois shrugged and sighed.

"I just got off the phone with the general."

"Oh, that was all the screaming I heard from the house." Lois blushed and grabbed at the back of her neck.

"Yeah. Well, apparently, he is very disappointed in me for letting this happen, and as far as my family chain of command goes, I am the weakest link." It was incredible how he could throw all the blame in her face, but she was used to it. It was easier for him to scold Lois than actually admit that he may not be the perfect person that he thought he was.

"I'm sorry," Clark says genuinely. His eyes shined with the truth his lips were speaking and she nodded in thanks.

"Don't be," she says quickly. "You know, there's something cathartic about telling a three-star general to go to hell." Her breathing becomes hitched and she turns away from Clark. He was the _last_ person she wanted to see her get emotional.

"Uh, you know, all these years, I thought I had my sister pegged. But, uh, in reality she's a complete stranger to me," she said. Turning back to Clark, she found him nodding at her.

"Even if that were true, I think that if she called you tomorrow, you'd be there in a second to help her."

Her insides twisted. How? How did he do that? How did he know her better than any person she had ever met? Hell, he knew her better than she did.

"Yeah, I would. She's my sister," she said. Clark moved to stand beside her at the railing and looked out at the sky.

"I don't think Lucy's all that bad," he said. Lois frowned at him for a moment, but her gaze softened.

"You're amazing, Smallville. You always look for the best in people even when they walk all over you," she said. Clark grinned that mega-watt smile and crossed his arms.

"I guess that explains why we're friends."

"Oh, we're friends now?" Lois challenged.

"Well, I won't tell anyone if you don't."

Lois narrowed her eyes at him before pulling back and giving him a healthy slug on the arm. He feigned injury as Lois backed away and finally walked down the stairs. Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Friends. Who would've thought?

* * *

 **Best Friend**

Lois sat curled up on the couch with a pint of rocky road ice cream with the fireplace blazing. She had turned all the other lights off and wanted to sulk alone in her dark apartment, but Clark had called a few minutes ago and she didn't have the heart to tell him not to come over. In truth, he was about the only company she could probably stand right now. He had a habit of always knowing what to say, and she needed that right now.

Truthfully, she wasn't even upset about Grant. Yeah, he was cute and nice, but he was also her boss. In retrospect, it probably wasn't one of her best ideas, but what was done was done. No, it was a certain blonde millionaire that was the cause of her sadness. She knew that they were over for good now, which only made it harder. No matter what he said or did, he was always going to have to put her second to the world. A light knocking brought her out of her thoughts.

"Enter at your own caloric risk," she said as Clark appeared in the door. Lois stabbed at the pint of ice cream violently with her spoon and took a big bite.

"How you doing?" he asked softly.

"Aside from the metaphor, I was hoping rocky road would help, but nothing, nada. Not even a dent," Lois grumbled. She swirled her spoon around in the carton and sighed.

"You know, I thought Grant would help me get over Ollie, and if that didn't end badly enough… the moment I was with Ollie again, all those feelings just came rushing right back up," she admitted.

"Maybe it can still work between you two," he suggested. Lois just sighed and got up off the couch.

"You don't know Ollie like I do. There are parts of him you've never seen," she said as she brushed past him.

"That's a given," Clark tried to joke, but Lois rolled her eyes and put her ice cream down on the counter.

"I mean, sides of him," she said. "He's got this one side that I'm not sure I can live with."

"How would you know if you don't give it a chance?" he asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Lois scoffed at him.

"We're not you and Lana. We're not the perfect couple. We are not destined for each other," she said. Clark frowned at her and took a step forward.

"Lois, this isn't like you. Normally, when things get challenging, that's when you get interested."

"This is different. My dad was a general," she said as she put the ice cream back in the freezer. "And he cared about me. But I learned really early that his role in the world was a lot more important than being a father. And you know what? For good reasons. And Ollie's life is demanding, too."

"Lois, just because someone's life has great responsibility doesn't mean your life has to take second place," he said.

"Of course it does, Clark," she said, her voice giving its first indication of breaking. "Can you imagine what it would be like to look into somebody's eyes and know that their destiny is so much greater than yours that you will never compete? You will always be left behind."

"That would be hard for anyone, but…"

"No, I can't be left behind one more time," she managed to say. Tears were threatening to spill, but she didn't let them. Not yet.

"You know, where Ollie's life is going, there's not room for me in it, and I know he'd never admit that, so… I had to. I just, um… I can't face another heartbreak down the road."

The tears were falling now and she was thankful that Clark took the opportunity to step forward and embrace her. She buried her face into his shoulder and let the tears soak his shirt. He felt safe and comforting, and Lois thanked God that this farmer boy had walked stark naked into her life.

"Besides, you know, why settle for hot, rich, and famous when I can hang out with you?" she joked. She felt him rubbing circles in her back and tried to relax instead of let out all of the emotions bubbling up inside of her. They stood there for a while not speaking, just standing there in an embrace. When the tears finally subsided, Lois released her hold on Clark and wiped her eyes.

"Thanks, Clark. You're my best friend," she said hoarsely. Clark smiled at her and squeezed her arm.

"Anytime, Lois."

* * *

 **Boyfriend**

Lois walked briskly across the road and on to the sidewalk in front of the Metropolis Theater. She smiled as she looked up at the screen. The Daily Planet Wishing Well Foundation Charity Fundraiser. _Finally,_ she had been invited to a noteworthy journalism gala! Her smile grew though as she thought about who was waiting for her inside. Clark. Her stomach began to flutter and she internally chastised it.

She walked into the main door and gave the security at the front her name. Walking further into the lobby, found the coat check and gave them her jacket before finally making her way towards the ball room. She checked her phone again to see where Clark said he was sitting. She had insisted on two cars here and two cars home. When she looked up, she found the man she was searching for right in front of her.

He stood at the entrance holding two glasses of champagne and looking like he stepped right out of a magazine. He was beaming, taking in his own view of her and her heart did a flip flop. Damn those baby blues and that smile!

"Hi," he said as he handed her one of the glasses.

"Hey, yourself. Trying to get me drunk already, Smallville?" she teased.

"From past experiences, I don't think I'll need to help you with that," he said. Lois raised an eye brow, but he only smirked.

"You know, most guys would complement the girl that they're now currently dating," she said. "Just a thought."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said before turning around and walking inside. Lois tried to be mad at him, but she couldn't keep the smile from off her face. Dating Clark Kent was going to be a lot more fun than she thought.

She followed him inside and saw that he was waiting for her at the end of the bar. Narrowing her eyes at him as she made her way over, she took a sip of her drink and sighed.

"Okay, so you won that one, but you caught me off guard. Never again," she said. Clark grinned and stepped closer to her. Her breath hitched as his hand brushed her cheek.

"You look beautiful tonight, you know," he said. Her cheeks blossomed with color and as much as she wanted to look away, she couldn't. She found herself trapped in his suddenly very serious gaze.

"Thanks," she breathed. His face inched closer to hers and though she wanted to take things slow, she also really wanted to kiss him again. She bit her bottom lip and leaned in-

"Lane! Kent! I'm so glad I finally found you both," Tess said. Clark and Lois jumped about a foot in the air and turned towards her, trying to snap out of it.

"Ms. Mercer," Lois said formally. There was a short, older man standing next to her dressed in a horrible mustard suit who looked as though he was about to fall asleep.

"I'd like you to meet Mr. Ralph Huntington. He's the editor for the Metropolis Gazette. Mr. Huntington, this is the reporter I was telling you about," Tess said. The man's hand shot out quickly at her and he smiled.

"Ms. Lane! It is so very good to meet you! I must say I am a big fan of your work. You're a very talented young lady," he said.

"Well, thank you very much! I appreciate that," she said. She saw his eyes flicker to Clark and cleared her throat. "This is Clark Kent, my co-worker… and boyfriend."

Both Tess and Clark snapped their focus to Lois. Tess, out of bewilderment, and Clark, simply because he didn't think she would bring it up. He bit a smile back and shook Mr. Huntington's hand. As he released it, Clark boldly took Lois's hand in his. She looked up at him, but didn't remove her hand from his. It was large and comforting, and it didn't freak her out like she had thought it would.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Huntington," he said.

"You too, Mr. Kent! Now, Ms. Mercer, where did you say the appetizers were?"

Clark and Lois shared a look as Tess gave directions to the elderly man. As Mr. Huntington went walking off, Tess turned to them with a raised brow and shocked expression.

"So when did this happen?" Tess asked coolly. The couple shared a look before Clark cleared his throat.

"Well, tonight's our first night out as an official couple so… I guess today," Clark said. Tess made a contemplative face, nodded and excused herself to go talk to someone else. Lois looked down at her and Clark's hands that were still intertwined and then back at him. He was already looking at her when her eyes met his.

"I didn't expect you to tell her we were dating tonight," Clark said as he began walking towards the dance floor, pulling Lois along with him.

"Should I not have?" Lois asked carefully. She hoped that she hadn't crossed a line and announced their relationship before he was ready. Clark snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him as soon as they got to the middle of the floor. She swayed gently to the music as he led. She'd have to ask him where he learned to dance later.

"No, I'm just surprised is all. I know you want to take this slow," he said. Sighing, she wrapped both of her arms around his neck. She noticed the presence of his hands on her waist, but she tried to ignore the trails of fire that erupted on the skin beneath his fingers.

"Smallville, I think that a verbal confirmation that we're dating still constitutes as slow," she said. "I just meant you know… I want to keep it light. I don't want to get too serious with you yet because you're still my friend and I don't want to lose that."

"Lois, you do know that the word 'friend' is also in the word 'boyfriend,' right?" he teased. Lois punched him in the arm and grinned.

"Okay, you are having _way_ too much fun with this!"

* * *

 **Fiancé**

She couldn't stop smiling. Or looking at it. Her left hand was held out in front of her face as she sat in bed waiting for Clark to come home. He had heard a burglary as soon as they had walked in the house and had to leave. Lois was disappointed since all she wanted to do was throw him in bed and have her way with him, but the time alone allowed her to call her sister and father. She and Clark decided that they'd tell Chloe, Oliver, and the rest of the team together.

She looked at the clock and saw it was almost midnight. Sighing, she got out of bed and pulled on one of Clark's flannels over her night gown. She had put on the light pink gown earlier for when Clark returned, but it looked as though it was going to be a late night. She walked up to the window by the bed and looked at the stars. Whenever she looked at the sky now, she tried to picture where Krypton might have been. Clark had showed her once, but she didn't remember.

"Lois?" She turned around at the sound of his voice. He stood leaning in the doorway with his Blur outfit still on. His eyes roamed over her body and she let him. She bit her lip knowing exactly what was going on in his head.

"Sorry, I took so long. I ended up having to put a fire out too," he said before spinning into a t-shirt and pajama pants. He walked over to her and wasted no time latching his lips to hers. She wound her hands in his hair and pressed herself against his chest.

"It's okay," Lois breathed. "I'm going to have to get used to Blur duties interrupting our alone time eventually."

"Eventually doesn't mean now," Clark said before kissing her again. "I like your outfit." Lois took that moment to step out of his arms and look herself up and down. Her pink silk nightgown cut off at the tops of her thighs, but his blue flannel hung down a bit lower. She chuckled and shrugged.

"I put this on earlier, but got a little cold," she said. "Care to help me warm up, _fiancé_?"

Clark's eyes widened at this, but before he could say a word, her mouth was on his. Her hands had already begun to make their way under his shirt and up his stomach. She ridded him of his t-shirt quickly and the flannel she was wearing soon followed.

"You know I really like hearing you say that," Clark said in between the kisses he left on her neck.

"Say what?" Lois breathed. Clark pulled away from her and looked at her through hooded eyes. He had that incredibly dark and sexy look in his eyes that only showed up every once in a while, and it made her knees want to buckle.

"Fiancé," he whispered in her ear. Clark lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, groaning as he pressed up against her. Soon her back hit the mattress and his hands began to roam. He ran his hands down her face, her neck, the sides of her breasts and stomach before finally reaching her core. But Lois was in no mood for foreplay. Using her legs to push his pants down his thighs, she grabbed one of his southern-bound hands firmly and looked at him.

"Clark. Now," she warned. His eyes were thick with desire and she knew that he would happily oblige. Capturing her lips in another searing kiss, Clark hiked her nightgown up her thighs and positioned himself. Their eyes locked in a heated gaze and as he entered her, she swore she saw stars. Sex with Clark before they got engaged was nothing short of spectacular, but sex with Clark now had a whole new set of feelings that came with it. It felt more wholesome, more complete.

When they were utterly spent and lying in a tangle of sweaty limbs, Lois made a sound of contentment. She hummed low in her throat and rolled over so that she could lean on Clark's shoulder. She placed her hand on his chest and smiled when he picked it up and kissed her ring finger.

"This looks good on you," he said. His eyes drifted from her hand down her body. "Especially if it's the only thing on you."

Lois chuckled and slid her knee over his thigh which allowed her to situate herself even closer to him. Almost laying completely on top of him, she propped her head up and just looked at him. She memorized every detail of his face- his hairline, the curve of his nose, his cheekbones, those damn baby blues…

"What?" he asked after a minute of silent gazing. Lois brushed his hair back and kissed him gently.

"Nothing," she said, "I'm just happy. So happy."

Clark reached up and tugged her chin towards him, claiming her lips for his own. Fingers found their way into her auburn locks and she pressed her chest against his. He rolled them so that they were lying side by side and finally pulled his lips away from hers. His hand cupped her face and the way he looked at her made her feel like she was the only thing in his world.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too… _fiancé_."

* * *

 **Husband**

Oh, how she loved that ring. Gold and simple, but the meaning behind it was far more important. It meant that he was _hers_ and right now, she couldn't be happier to have her territory marked.

It seemed as though Perry White had decided to hire an incredibly annoying amount of young, cute interns during the week Lois and Clark went on their honeymoon. A group of hot, young 22-year-olds ogling her new husband was not exactly the welcoming she expected to receive after her week off.

 _Husband_

She didn't think she was going to get used to saying that for a while. After _finally_ getting officially married and spending a week jumping from the Caribbean to Rome to a few other places she had on her bucket list, she could finally say that she was truly happy with her life. She had a great job, wonderful friends that doubled as super heroes, and an amazing man by her side. The fact that she could now call him her husband was just icing on the cake.

It still didn't keep away the interns. Lois heard two of them yapping as she rounded the corner towards her office. Sure enough, Clark was standing outside in between the two of them looking incredibly uncomfortable. She couldn't help but smirk at that. Though he did have a long list of infidelities, a majority could be attributed to meteor rock or magic, and the other two incidences she could thank her little sister for. She knew that Clark's world practically revolved around her, so she wasn't really worried.

"So, Clark… does it ever get dangerous out in the field reporting?" Linda, one of the girls, asked. Clark adjusted his tie and cleared his throat.

"No, not really, Ms. Marshall. Really though, I need to go-"

"But what about that story you wrote about the explosion downtown? Seemed pretty scary to me," one of the other girls said. Her hand smoothed his tie down his chest which triggered a vivid flashback of Cat Grant sticking a pencil in her hand. The notion didn't seem too terrible at the moment. But Lois could see the color rising in his cheeks and giggled. Of course, that gave away her location. Clark's eyes locked on hers from across the room and she could see his shoulders slump in relaxation.

"Miss Lane," he called out from the group of interns, "Ready for our meeting?"

"Oh, I think we've got another half hour to kill," she said, walking right up to the group and plucking the cup of coffee he was holding right out of his hand. "I'll be in the office when you're finished up here."

She felt his eyes on her back as she sauntered into the office. Oh, he was going to kill her for sure, but that made it all the more fun. Teasing Clark was one of the things she adored about him. He knew when to take it and he knew when to give it back to her. Taking a sip of his stolen coffee, she was surprised by the fact that it was made the way she liked it. One sugar with a splash of cream. Clark drank his black.

"That was not funny." Clark walked towards her with a fake scowl on his face. Lois rolled her eyes and took another sip of coffee.

"Since when do you drink coffee with cream and sugar?" she asked, not bothering to acknowledge his last comment. He shrugged and sat down in his chair.

"I figured you're going to steal my coffee either way, so I may as well make it the way you like it," he said. And there it was. The perfection that was Clark Kent. It was actually a little annoying how he could always stop their bantering by saying something romantic. And the problem was that he didn't even do it on purpose—it was just who he was.

Choosing to ignore his sweet words, mostly because she still wanted to tease him about the interns, Lois propped her head up on her hand and looked at him from across their desks.

"For the record, I'm not sorry for leaving you out there," she said. "It's funny watching you squirm."

"Yeah, for you," he grumbled. Lois scoffed at him. She couldn't believe The Man of Steel was being such a baby about this. In fact, most guys would love the attention.

"Listen, if I have to watch all those short-skirt, boobs out intern-skanks throw themselves all over you, I'm at least going to have a little fun with it," she said. She logged on to the Planet server and began checking her emails.

"They don't throw themselves at me and they're not skanks," Clark said. Always the defender of virtue, her boy scout.

"Yeah, and I'm not awesome as hell," she said with a snort. "Those girls look like they stepped right off the corner and into The Daily Planet."

"They don't… wait, are you jealous?" Clark asked from across their desks. Lois stuck her head out from behind her computer and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I don't do jealous, Clark. Plus, we just got married. Why would I be jealous?" she asked, but even she could hear the bitterness in her voice.

"Lois…" Clark said, but Lois held up a finger as she focused her attention to her computer screen.

"I'm not jealous."

"It would be okay if you were."

"Well, I'm _not_ so why don't you just drop it?"

But that wasn't Clark's style. No sooner did the words leave her mouth did she find herself backed up against the wall in the corner of the office with Clark standing incredibly close to her. His scent overwhelmed her in this secluded corner of the room which made it hard for her to try and wriggle out of his embrace.

"We have work to do," she tried to say, but it came out as a throaty whisper. Damn that man. He grabbed her firmly by the shoulders before sliding his hands down to her waist and stepping in between her legs. His nose was almost touching hers now and she couldn't pull away from the gaze he had locked her in.

"Lois Lane- _Kent_ ," he said, "You are my _wife_ and I am your husband." He bent his head in for a kiss. "You are mine and I am yours. There's no one else but you."

"You make it really hard to be mad at you," she whispered before crashing her lips to his. His tongue sought access just about as soon as their mouths met and she obliged. She pulled on his tie for better access and reached for his glasses. They were just another obstacle in her way at this point. She went to put her fingers through his hair, but recoiled as soon as she touched it.

"God, I hate this stuff in your hair. It makes it all hard and sticky," she said.

"Well, Miss Lane, I do believe it was your idea in the first place," he said. He pecked her lips once again before straightening his tie and putting his glasses back on. "I hear Perry calling a staff meeting in five."

Lois was left standing there flustered and unsatisfied. She looked down to fix any ruffled clothing and smoothed her hair as she walked back over to their desks. Clark was standing rifling through some papers when she grabbed him by the tie and pulled his face dangerously close to hers.

"You better make this up to me later, Mr. Kent," she whispered seductively. Clark only grinned and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, Miss Lane."

The two walked out of their office trying to suppress hidden smiles while Lois took great care in making sure that the interns were watching when she wiped a smudge of lipstick off of Clark's mouth.

* * *

 **Father**

Today was the day. Lois had been waiting all week for this day. For starters, it was Sunday, which meant that she and Clark didn't have to go to work today. It was also his birthday today and she had the most perfect gift for him. It just so happened that her husband was one of the most impossible people to buy anything for. Sure, she got him clothes and all those practical gifts, but she had never been able to surprise him. Well, that was changing today.

Lois was pregnant.

On Monday, she had gotten out of bed and promptly threw up as the smell of bacon wafted into her bedroom. At first, she just thought she had caught a stomach bug, but the immediate feeling of normalcy that returned after made her start to wonder. Sure enough, when she checked her calendar, she found that her period was two weeks late. She had met with Emil a few hours later while Clark was off on Superman duty.

Lois made Emil test her three separate times before finally accepting the reality that she was going to be a mother. She was going to have a baby. After swearing Emil to absolute secrecy, she had thought about how to tell Clark that day, but Superman duties had kept him away for most of the day. In fact, she hadn't really seen him during most of the week, and when she did, he was too exhausted to really be present in the conversation. Which is exactly why Lois had called Oliver yesterday and asked if Superman could have a little break today.

Clark was currently out on a morning patrol since that was the only thing Lois and Oliver would let him do. She had insisted last night that since it was his birthday today, she was ordering him to take a day off and enjoy it. He had argued that his birthday entitled him to doing what he wanted to do, but one look from Lois told him that he was going to do whatever she said.

Lois placed the pile of gifts at the end of their kitchen table. She tucked the small white box under one of the bags so that he would open that one last. Grinning as she thought about his reaction, she began making breakfast. Sure, she hadn't mastered the art of gourmet meals yet, but she was finally capable of cooking an array of breakfast meals, which included pancakes and bacon this morning.

As she finished mixing the pancake ingredients, she heard a familiar whoosh from behind. Immediately turning, she saw Superman walking towards her. God, that suit left nothing to the imagination! Not that she needed to imagine; she knew that body better than her own.

"So, Superman, I hear it's your birthday today," Lois said. "Any special requests?"

"I don't know… do you have time for a one-on-one interview this morning?" Clark asked. His eyes twinkled with amusement and Lois couldn't help but grin. When he finally reached her, she pulled his head down and kissed him gently.

"Maybe after breakfast. And presents!" Lois said. Not that she didn't want to jump under the covers with Clark, but she needed this to go perfectly. She had been planning it all week and the last thing she needed was for Clark to get all up close and personal with her. Emil said she was about five weeks along, so she knew that the baby had already developed a heartbeat and was afraid of Clark hearing it.

"Lois, you didn't have to cook. Or get me anything! I told you I didn't need anything," Clark said. Lois just rolled her eyes and turned back to the stove.

"And when do I ever listen to you? Now go shower and change so I can finish this up," she said. His lips touched the back of her neck for a brief moment, but then she heard his retreating footsteps. Good. Now if she burned anything, he wouldn't be able to make fun of her.

Thirty minutes and two plates of pancakes later, Clark and Lois were sitting at the kitchen table. Lois watched as he took a sip of his coffee and read the newspaper. His facial expressions were so easy to read. His eyebrows would draw together when he read something that made him angry and his mouth would curve if it was something happy. It made her laugh that he was so easy to read, yet he could still manage to double as Clark Kent and Superman.

"You want me to open them, don't you?" Clark said without looking up from the paper. "I can feel you looking at me."

"Ok, yes! I'm just excited, okay? I finally got you a good gift this year," she said. He looked at her and put the paper down.

"What do you mean? You always get me great presents," he said.

"No, I get you practical gifts like clothes. You're the one that always gives me these amazing presents that I can never match."

"Lois," he said. He reached out and cupped her cheek. "Having you in my life is the greatest gift you could ever give me."

"Oh, no," she said as she stood up. She circled around to the other side of the table and pushed his presents towards him. "You are not using that line on me right now, mister. Now start opening! There's some from your mom and Chloe and Oliver, too."

Clark reluctantly began opening his gifts as Lois watched eagerly. As he unwrapped each present, she felt a sinking feeling begin in her stomach. What if he wasn't happy? What if he didn't want a kid right now? They were only a year into their marriage- was that too soon?

"Lois? Is this a present too or was it stuck underneath?" Clark asked. He was holding up the little white box in his hand. Her breath hitched for a moment as a million different scenarios went through her head, but she only nodded.

"That's the one I was excited about," she said. "Open it."

Lois bit her bottom lip as she watched him remove the lid. His eyes were locked on the contents of the box, but he didn't move a muscle. She wasn't sure he was even breathing. But then he placed the little box on the table and took out the stick with the little blue plus sign on the end of it. Clark finally looked at her and opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Clark?" she managed to squeak out.

"Is this… are you…?" he stuttered. His eyes were glassy now and she wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Her heart was pounding a million miles a minute as she waited for him to get a hold on the situation. Finally, after a moment or two of silence, a strangled laugh made its way out of his mouth and he smiled.

"You're pregnant?" Lois nodded fiercely trying to keep her own tears at bay.

"Happy Birthday."

She was in his arms in an instant. Spinning her around, he kissed every part of her face that he could possibly reach. It felt as though the weight on her chest had been immediately lifted and immediately she started to cry. Her feet touched the ground and Clark took a hold of her face. His thumbs wiped her tears and the two of them grinned stupidly at each other for a moment.

"We're going to be parents," he breathed. "I'm going to be a father."

"Damn right you're gonna be my baby daddy, Clark Kent," Lois joked. Clark laughed and hugged her again. Then, he dropped to his knees and pressed his ear to her stomach. She ran her hand through his hair taking great joy in watching him listen for the baby's heartbeat.

"Oh my God… I can hear the heartbeat. I can hear the baby," he said. He stood up and kissed her again, this time so passionately that she had to grab on to him so she wouldn't fall over.

"I love you. I love you so much," he said. "Thank you."

"Smallville, it _does_ take two to tango."

"I know, but… I just never thought I'd find someone to share my life with, let alone have kids with, because who knew if that was even possible."

"We do," she whispered. Clark nodded and pressed his forehead against hers. "I can't believe we're going to be parents."

"You're going to be an amazing mother," he said. Lois smiled at his faith in her and kissed him again. Sliding her hands up his stomach to his chest, she gently bit his bottom lip and pulled away.

"Mhmm… I've been told I'm amazing at other things, too," Lois said. "So how 'bout it, birthday boy? Wanna take mama upstairs?"

"Lois, are you sure that's okay?" Clark asked. The tips of his ears went scarlet and he scratched the back of his neck.

"Honey, you can try all you want, but I don't think this apartment is going to be celibate for eight months. Now, did Superman want that interview or not?"


	6. Ambush

**Set during "Ambush" (10x07)**

* * *

Her hands were still shaking when the General finally released her from his tight embrace. Feeling that she was strong enough to stand on her own, Lois walked away from her father and sister towards the burning symbol representing the Blur's heroics. Closing her eyes and letting out a heavy sigh, she silently thanked whatever force that had brought Clark into her life for the millionth time. Walking back towards her father and sister, she heard the General getting off the phone with the police.

"Emergency responders are on their way, girls. I need to call Washington and report this," he said brusquely. His eyes scanned Lois once again for injuries, but she gave him a reassuring smile in order to calm his nerves. Realizing that Clark technically wasn't supposed to know anything had happened, Lois grabbed her cell phone from her back pocket.

"I have to call Clark," Lois said to no one in particular. She saw Lucy look at the General to gauge his reaction, but was surprised to find a softness in his eyes. He gave her a small nod and pressed his phone to his ear before walking away. Lois dialed Clark's number and held her breath as she listened to the phone dial. He answered after the first ring.

"I'm so sorry. Thank you. I love you," Lois breathed before he could even get a word out. Her heart was hammering into her chest at this point and she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms right then.

"I love you too. I'll be there soon."

She walked back over to Lucy and saw the emergency vehicles pulling up to the scene. Her little sister's eyes were glued to her feet and Lois reached her hand out to softly squeeze her shoulder. Lucy looked up at her with apologetic eyes, but Lois simply pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's okay, Luce," she said as the younger version of herself wept in her arms. She stroked her hair just like her mother used to do when she was younger and pressed a kiss to her hair. She released her as the medical team made its way over to them and gave her hand a final squeeze before one of the paramedics whisked her away.

Sitting on the back of the ambulance wrapped in a blanket, Lois couldn't stop her knee from bouncing. The paramedic and police officer in front of her were both asking her questions and talking to her about all that had occurred, but her brain refused to process their words. All she could think about was Clark.

How had she been so stupid to leave him? Granted, she defended him when it really mattered, but she still never should have left. The look of absolute betrayal and heartbreak was evident on his face when she told him she was going with her father. She had hurt him and he had saved her yet again. She closed her eyes and silently prayed that she hadn't screwed up enough for him to leave her.

"Ms. Lane? Are you alright?" a voice called out. Her head snapped back to the police officer who was looking at her intently.

"Yes, sorry I… what was the question?" Lois asked. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before looking down at his notepad again.

"I asked if you had met anyone or seen anything suspicious before the attack," he replied. Lois shook her head and the officer nodded, clearly wanting to be done questioning her.

"Thank you, Ms. Lane. I hope you and your family recover quickly," he said before flipping his notebook shut and giving her a departing nod. Lois smiled and wrapped the blanket around her a little tighter. As the officer walked away, her eyes turned to the figure approaching her from the other side of the alley. A tall man stepped out of the shadows, his hair ruffled and windblown, his eyes intensely locked on hers, and his skin brushed with the lightest film of ash. Flinging her blanket behind her, Lois took off sprinting.

She hit him like a freight train, but the man of steel stood rooted in place as she practically jumped on him. Feeling his arms finally wrap around her, Lois clung to Clark as if he was going to disappear at any moment. She wrapped her legs around his waist and buried her face into his neck, taking a deep breath and inhaling the scent that was so purely Clark Kent she couldn't give it a description.

"I love you. Oh God, I love you," Lois murmured into his neck as she tried to keep her tears from falling. Clark's arms locked her in a steely embrace and he buried a hand in her hair as he pulled her as close to his body as possible. She felt his nose in her hair and she gripped the black curls at the base of his skull firmly. They held each other for a few silent moments before Lois pulled away from him. She ran the pad of her thumb over his cheekbone and let out a shaky breath.

"Clark, I am _so_ sorry. I never should have left you, I never-"

"Shh, Lois, it's okay. I shouldn't have made you choose between us. That wasn't fair of me," he replied evenly. Lois just shook her head and pressed a firm kiss to his mouth.

"There's no choice, Smallville. You're it for me. I told the General the same thing and if he doesn't agree, well, he can kiss my-"

Her rant was cut off promptly by the placement of his lips on hers. Clark kissed her in a way that made her believe everything would be okay, in a way that if the world stopped turning it wouldn't matter because they had this moment and each other. Feeling the tip of his tongue trace her bottom lip, Lois moaned audibly causing Clark to smile against her lips.

"I'd try and be a little quieter," he murmured. "I'm on thin ice with your father as it is."

"I don't care," she whispered as she ran her hands through his tangled mess of hair. "I don't care about what anyone has to say about us but _us_ , okay?"

"Okay," he replied warmly before capturing her lips in another kiss. Lois could feel herself getting progressively aroused as Clark's mouth worked magic on hers, but the loud sound of someone clearing their throat caused the two to break apart. She tore her lips from his to find her father standing beside them with a raised eyebrow. Lowering her feet to the ground, she dislodged herself from Clark's embrace, but kept her fingers threaded through his own. There was no way she was going to let him feel like he was being left again.

"They're treating this incident as an assassination attempt or a possible domestic terrorist attack. Lucy and I will have to go to Washington first thing in the morning to help sort through this mess," her father said and for the first time in her life, she saw the General become uncomfortable. He shifted in an awkward motion that made Lois lock eyes with her sister. They both exchanged a confused look before turning their eyes back to their father.

"Seeing as, uh, we won't have anywhere to stay-"

"You're all more than welcome to stay at the farm tonight. In fact, I insist," Clark interrupted. A look of relief passed the General's face knowing that he wouldn't have to actually ask Clark for a favor after he was so horrible to him earlier.

"Well, thank you, Clark. That's very generous of you," he replied gruffly and stuck out a hand which Clark shook firmly. Clearing his throat, the General looked at Lucy and placed a hand on her arm.

"Luce, why don't you go start the car? I'll let the police chief know that we're leaving," he said. He nodded at Clark and squeezed Lois's shoulder before walking off in the opposite direction. As soon as he was gone, Lois turned to Clark.

"Let's go home, please," Lois said in a small voice. Her eyes closed when she felt his lips on her forehead and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding in. Wrapping her free arm around his bicep, she let him guide her silently to the car.

Xxx

Clark shut the door to his bedroom and turned off the light before turning towards his bed. He tried to suppress the smile that was forming on his face, but he couldn't. He had just asked the General for permission to propose to his daughter and he had agreed. He was going to marry Lois Lane. Well, hopefully.

Currently, the woman on his mind was sitting up against the headboard of his bed watching the news coverage about the explosion at the Talon. She had her bottom lip pinned between her teeth as she watched the television intently. Feeling a surge of absolute happiness coarse through his body, Clark slid into bed beside her.

"God, Rick Flag is _insane_! I mean, trying to assassinate my dad is one thing, but using a missile to do it? Are you kidding me?" Lois ranted. Clark chuckled and wrestled the remote from her hand before pressing the power button. Sliding his arm over her waist, he pulled her flush against his chest. His bare skin met the fabric of one of his well-worn flannels that was currently covering his soon-to-be fiancé and he shivered at the contact.

"Only you would complain about the way someone went about an assassination attempt," Clark said as he nuzzled into the soft skin covering her neck. He felt her fingers in his hair and instinctively tightened his grip on her. He pressed a kiss to her collar bone and raised his head so that their eyes could meet. However, as he peered into those mesmerizing hazel orbs, he saw turmoil brewing inside of them.

"What's wrong?" he asked, brushing a piece of hair off of her cheek. She let out a small sigh and bit the inside of her cheek before answering.

"I'm sorry I left," she whispered.

"Lois-"

"No, Clark," she said effectively cutting him off. "That look on your face when I left… I never want to be the cause of that ever again. It just about broke me. And I know you're the strongest man on Earth, but I'm one of the only people that can hurt you and I did and I'm sorry for that."

He said nothing for a minute and instead gazed into her eyes. How did he get so lucky? How did he manage to get someone as incredible as Lois Lane to fall in love with him? When she bit her lip nervously, he snapped back into the present moment and gave her a small reassuring smile.

"I love you," he said simply. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion, so he gave her a gentle kiss to try and convey his meaning.

"Lois, you have a bigger heart than anyone I have ever met. You left because you were trying to protect your father, not because you were trying to hurt me. I know that, okay? Just promise never to do that to me again," he said, suddenly becoming very serious.

"Never. It would take an army to get rid of me, Clark Kent," she said.

"Well, there's a general down the hall…"

"Shut up," Lois said before punching him on the arm. Clark feigned being hurt which caused her to roll her eyes, but a moment later they softened. He watched as she lowered her lips to the spot on his shoulder she had punched and complied when she pushed him on his back before laying her head on his chest. She hooked a leg over his and wrapped her arm around his waist before finally settling down.

"I just want you to know that I told him I wasn't leaving you," Lois said. Clark ran his fingers through her hair and listened to her soothing voice. "At the Talon, before the explosion. I told him that if he trusted and loved me, then he would accept us being together."

"I know," Clark murmured. Lois raised her head off of his chest just enough to catch his eye, but Clark gestured for her to lay back down.

"He told me earlier in the barn. He apologized for how he was acting and actually appreciated the fact that I stood up to him," Clark said. He heard her snort loudly and glared down at her, but the moment she saw he was serious, the smile left her face.

"Really? He actually _said_ that?" Lois asked obviously feeling a little bewildered. Clark smiled smugly and shrugged.

"Yep. Want to know what else he said?" Clark asked. She nodded and using one arm, he shifted her body up against his so that their faces were now inches apart.

"He said all those lists and the grief he gave your past boyfriends were tests for _you_. He wanted to see which one you'd fight for," he whispered. A look of brief anger flashed across her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a gleam of realization and understanding. She swept back the hair shading his eyes and smiled.

"I'd do anything for you."

The rest of the night was silent except for the sounds of soft whispers, gentle caresses, and tender love-making that neither Clark nor Lois cared about her father hearing.


End file.
